MOUNT VERNON – Mount Vernon City Council signaled its support for an estimated $10 million State Route 13 relocation plan to help the City make its case with the Ohio Department of Transportation to secure funding to design and purchase property.
“The plan we’re talking about would move both North and South 13 onto Sandusky Street,” Brian Ball, director of Engineering, told City Council at its Streets and Public Buildings Committee meeting Monday night.
The plan will move the road a bit farther from the Kokosing River leading from the bridge.
The City will put together two applications to seek funding for the project, Ball said. One is a Transportation Review Advisory Council (TRAC) grant and the other is a build grant. On Monday night, he sought a resolution of support for the application. If the City is awarded the grant, City Council will have the opportunity to vote for or against accepting it.
“The road, the traffic signals, the water lines, the storm sewer, everything associated with this project,” he stated would be covered by the build grant.
Ball noted that they just found out about the TRAC funding a week ago, and they need to have all documents and supporting materials sent to the City’s consultants next Friday to meet the end-of-month deadline. The application requires a tremendous amount of data about downtown Mount Vernon.
City Councilmember Samantha Scoles asked for a timeframe on the project.
The first grant application would be for engineering and real estate acquisition funds, Ball said.
“If we got funded, that would probably be a two- to three-year effort to do the engineering and the real estate acquisition,” he said. “And we would go back with another application to ask for the construction money.”
“Do you think applying for this will get us much of that $10 million ... all of it?” Councilmember Tammy Woods asked.
Ball said he assumed the City will have to provide at least a 10% cost share if they get the grant.
The City also asked for and received letters of support from the Ariel Foundation and the Area Development Foundation of Knox County. They also will ask for support from state and federal legislators who represent the city.
“We’ve met with these businesses probably six or eight times over the years, and the businesses are making decisions to close and move on because they believe this road is going to be built,” Ball said.
